Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Wilmette is one of the best-graded places in America: an A, 67th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. It is among the healthiest towns in the country on CDC estimates, its public schools beat 98% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation, and the median household earns $191K. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $1.0 million, 11.1 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income. 84% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Wilmette, against 29% in Illinois’ towns and 29% across U.S. towns. Few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. Wilmette has 14 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Frank J. Baker House and Chicago and Northwestern Depot.
Where Wilmette beats most towns.
| Widest gap | Wilmette | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.7% | 15.9% |
Its 14 National Register listings are more than in 94% of Illinois towns with a listing.
Census counts: 419 in 1880, 28,170 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1893 and 6 maps from 1899 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Wilmette is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Wilmette. Close and well known come first.
Big draw10 mi Stadium & arenaWrigley Field
Big draw16 mi Stadium & arenaSoldier Field
Big draw21 mi MuseumBarack Obama Presidential Center
Big draw14 mi Stadium & arenaUnited Center
Big draw18 mi Stadium & arenaRate Field
Big draw15 mi MuseumArt Institute of Chicago1.5M visitors a yearWrigley Field: Ryan Dickey, CC BY 2.0 · Soldier Field: Photo by Joon Han Contact: [email protected], CC BY-SA 3.0 · Barack Obama Presidential Center: AlphaBeta135, CC0 · United Center: User:JeremyA, CC BY-SA 2.5 · Rate Field: User Enoch Lai on en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Art Institute of Chicago: ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Wilmette, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Wilmette.
Wilmette has less food insecurity than most of Illinois, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Illinois and has a long record of flood insurance claims.
At 11.1 years of the Chicago metro’s $91K median household income, the typical home (about $1.01M) costs more against local pay than in 99% of Illinois towns; that ratio is one input to its D− for cost of living.
Wilmette’s median rent is $1,978 a month. Typical home values rose 14% in the year to September 2026. 88% of Wilmette households own their home.
| Wilmette | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,978 a month | $1,128 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 88% | 75% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
9.2 miles of trail in 19 parks and preserves. The trail density in Wilmette is 1.7 miles per square mile. Gillson Park, at 54 acres with 1.3 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Gillson Park | 1.3 mi | 54 |
| 2. Mallinckrodt Park | 0.9 mi | 10 |
| 3. Community Park | 0.8 mi | 34 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Its widest gap with Illinois is food insecurity: 5.7% of its 20,396 adults worry about having enough food, against 15.9% statewide.
23% of adults have obesity in Wilmette. Wilmette beats the Illinois average on 25 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 1. 18% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Wilmette.
| Wilmette | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 23% | 37% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 17% | 17% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.4% | 13% | 14% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 5.7% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Wilmette | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 5.7% | 15.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.8% | 9.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 10.1% | 7.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
36.1% of workers work from home, against 15.9% across Illinois.
Among 768 Illinois towns, just 2 have a higher share of workers working from home than Wilmette. Most working residents leave Wilmette for work: only 7% work in town. Since 2013, Wilmette has lost 386 jobs, to 6,443 in 2023.
| Wilmette | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 36% | 11% | 11% |
| Median household income | $191,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 35 minutes | 26 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 3.2% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Reported crimes fell from 322 to 244 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings. Violent crime is rare: 9 reported in 2025, 0.3 per 1,000 residents.
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Wilmette has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers. July afternoons reach 83°, January nights drop to 18° and about 34 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
95 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 17 properties have flooded more than once.
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 57% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 95 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Wilmette.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
35 within 15 miles of the center of Wilmette
About 3 of every 100 Wilmette residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
11.1% of the town is conserved land, across 19 parks and preserves.
14 places in Wilmette on the National Register of Historic Places.
24 notable people were born in Wilmette.
Village in Illinois, United States
Wilmette is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located on Lake Michigan about 14 miles (23 km) north of the Chicago Loop. The village had a population of 28,170 at the 2020 census. The first and only Baháʼí House of Worship in North America is located in the village. Wilmette borders the communities of Kenilworth, Winnetka, Skokie, Northfield, Glenview, and Evanston, Illinois.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
7 towns share a border with Wilmette.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmette | #67 | A | D− | B+ | A+ | A+ |
| New Trier Township | #45 | A+ | D− | — | A+ | A+ |
| Glenview | #192 | A− | D− | B− | A | A+ |
| Kenilworth | — | — | C | A+ | A+ | A+ |
| Evanston | #419 | B | D− | C− | A− | A+ |
| Skokie | #465 | B− | D | C− | B+ | A |
| Niles Township | #290 | B+ | D | — | A− | A |
| Northfield | #26 | A+ | D | A− | A+ | A+ |
Kenilworth has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. New Trier Township and Niles Township report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Wilmette with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Wilmette grades A overall, better than 94% of U.S. towns and #67 of 767 in Illinois. It grades A+ for health, B+ for safety and A+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
24 notable people were born here, including Pete Wentz and Joel Murray.
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